Larry Dowdy did not tarry after receiving his scholarship offer from Georgia Tech. Dowdy, an offensive tackle from South Point High in Belmont, N.C., was informed of his offer during school Friday and called offensive line coach Mike Sewak that night to accept.
Dowdy is the fourth player to accept a spot in the Yellow Jackets’ 2019 recruiting class.
“It was like a weight was lifted off me,” Dowdy said of the offer. “I’ve been waiting for that for a long time. I didn’t know if it was ever going to happen.”
Dowdy has been waiting, he said, since his freshman season. Tech has been his dream school since that time because of the school’s academic prowess and the offense. South Point runs a triple-option offense based on Tech’s, Dowdy said.
“That’s always been the goal of mine,” he said.
Dowdy had made two visits to Tech since his junior season ended. He holds an unweighted 3.7 GPA and hopes to study business with an emphasis on accounting.
Dowdy, 6-foot-4 and 285 pounds, does not have a star rating from Rivals or 247 Sports, but also holds offers from Appalachian State and several FCS schools. He has been a starter at South Point since his freshman season and was named all-state as a junior. His highlight videos show a player who can charge off the line, can play with leverage and finish off blocks.
Dowdy has built a relationship with offensive line coach Mike Sewak, who was the one who made the offer Friday. The offer was such a priority for Dowdy that he was pulled out of his chorus class Friday to speak with Sewak and coach Paul Johnson.
“I felt like I just couldn’t stop smiling,” said Dowdy, a baritone.
That Tech had targeted Dowdy speaks to the value that the coaching staff had placed on him. Dowdy said that coaches told him that they’ll take two offensive linemen for the 2019 class. On the current roster, there are 16 scholarship offensive linemen, and two are seniors.
Should he officially become a part of the Tech signing class, he would become the first signee from North Carolina since B-back Marcus Marshall in 2015.
